Greece reaches out to Asian partners

Greece’s Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias is on an ambitious tour of Asia in an effort to reinforce existing bilateral relations and open investment paths for the country.

Kotzias left on Sunday with his first stop India, then Singapore and lastly South Korea where he hopes to upgrade relations and sign new agreements.

During his visit to India the Greek Foreign Minister will meet with his Indian counterpart Sushma Swaraj and Indian Minister of State for External Affairs Mobashar Jawed Akbar in New Delhi, as well as visiting the Gandhi Smriti, a museum dedicated to the life of Mahatma Gandhi.

In India, Kotzias is expected to sign agreements on air transport and a memorandum of cooperation in the renewable energy sector and also to deliver a speech on Greece’s role and initiatives in Southeastern Europe and the Eastern Mediterranean at the Observer Research Foundation in India.

In Singapore, which will be the first-ever visit by a Greek foreign minister since the two countries established diplomatic relations in 1966, comes before the imminent opening of a Greek embassy in Singapore.

Kotzias will have a working lunch with his counterpart Dr. Vivian Balakrishnan where they will discuss prospects of improving cooperation in trade, shipping, investments and tourist flow, in light of initiatives like China’s One Belt One Road, as well as other issues.

The visit to South Korea is also a first visit by a Greek foreign minister, with Kotzias meeting his counterpart Kang Kyung-wha in Seoul. He will then be received by the S. Korean Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon and meeting Korea’s Metropolitan Ambrosius.

His talks in Seoul will focus on boosting South Korean investments in Greece, especially in infrastructure, tourism, and new technology, while both sides emphasise cooperation in shipping and ship building. Athens is also interested in S. Korean expertise in electronic governance based on a memorandum of cooperation signed in October 2017 when the South Korean prime minister visited Greece.